Google's policy is to remove search results at the request of national governments if its lawyers agree that the content in question violates local law. Google also removes results at the request of individuals in countries where there is less protection against libel suits.

To be fair, many of the censorship requests Google honors are far less objectionable than China's, which are overtly aimed at silencing dissent. We also think Google's new position that it is immoral to censor results for China is perfectly reasonable. We also think Google's old position was perfectly reasonable -- that censoring results for the Chinese is distasteful, but on the whole, leaves the Chinese people better off than cutting them out of Google altogether.

Entirely different: Censoring results for years, shifting course for entirely unrelated reasons, and then vilifying competitors who don't jump on the bandwagon. (Though, of course, completely Google's prerogative.) But it's particularly hypocritical when Google is still happily censoring its search and YouTube products for other countries.